By Jim Brown
June 29, 2001

(AgapePress) - An institute in Virginia has been teaching young conservatives the art of selling conservatism as compassion for the last 22 years.

It has been referred to as a “boot camp for young conservatives.” Just a few miles from the White House, students at the Leadership Institute are learning how to sell their ideas in ways that engage a mass audience.

Founder and president Morton Blackwell tells the New York Times that instead of teaching family values or conservative ideology, the institute teaches what he calls “political technology.” For example, students learn how to face down hostile liberal reporters with the media skills used by men such as the “Great Communicator” himself, Ronald Reagan.

Since the institute also operates a job bank from which incoming conservatives in Congress often select junior staff members, students like 22-year-old Leslie Quillen of Greenville, South Carolina, are likely to find a job on Capitol Hill. Like many students who attend seminars at the institute, Quillen grew up in a middle-class, conservative Christian family. She tells the Times she heard about the institute from a friend at Bob Jones University in Greenville two years ago, and jumped at the opportunity to attend a two-day seminar.

Since then, Quillen has transferred to George Mason University, and six months ago took a staff job at the institute, recruiting other students for training. Quillen says she would like to work in conservative politics after graduation. However, not all institute students go to work in politics. Some have found entry-level jobs in small-market television and radio news.

The Leadership Institute is housed in a five-story building with dormitories, classrooms, and television studios, and is financed by about $8 million a year in contributions from wealthy conservatives.

© 2001 AgapePress all rights reserved.

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